GRM2017 & TWCM Volunteer Run

Last Sunday I had an amazing run at the Goa River Marathon 2017. To be honest, I wasn't expecting it to turn out as good as it did. The 10K race was flagging off at 7:30 and I assumed it would be hot and muggy like it is here. Surprisingly, it was cool and pleasant almost all through the run. The event was organized well. There were aid stations every 2 kilometers and almost at 1K intervals they had volunteers standing and handing out water bottles. I get dehydrated very quickly on my runs so this was a totally blessing. I had planned on just two water breaks but ended up taking a lot more. 

The course and route was almost like a trail in terms of elevation gains & dips and the view. It was a very scenic route and I enjoyed the views especially along the river. I stuck to my pace plan more or less till the 8K point. But from there until the finish line was all incline. Including a particularly steep climb for about 500 meters. I finished the run at 62:36. Though it was 2:36 minutes off my target, I was incredibly pleased with the run... :-) It was still my PB. I bettered my time by almost 5 minutes. I was even more kicked when I got the timing results and saw that I had come 9th...

Running the GRM seems to have given me a whole new boost of confidence and I seem to have gotten over my mental block of running at sub 6 paces. So this weekend when I had the chance to do another timed run, I happily took it up. It was a run in lieu of volunteering at the TWCM. The run was organized by one of the chapters of the Chennai Runners and it was strange route. Almost all of it was run along the highway in Vanagaram in Chennai. I was running with a couple of others from the Nungambakkam Nitros and thank God for the company! Maybe it was my fellow runners, maybe it was because the route was so boring that I was eager to finish it quickly, maybe it was because I had had enough rest the previous night or maybe it was the weather, but whatever the reason, I found myself almost comfortably finishing at around 61:40. My official timing which I received later was 1:01:33. Another PB. Super thrilled! It is still a minute and a half away from my elusive sub 60 goal, but a PB is a PB! :)